LAS VEGAS -- It doesn't matter what Nick Diaz
says, you want to hear it. It doesn't matter who he fights, you want to
see it. It doesn't matter if you want him to win or lose, you have a
strong opinion either way. In a matter of weeks, he has become the most
riveting, polarizing man in MMA.

Soon, he might become its biggest star.

That may sound a bit illogical right now, but excuse me, I've spent the
whole week absorbing the philosophies of the 209's most famous export,
and I'm sold. Illogical is the new normal.

Diaz's allure is two-fold. In the cage, he's a tremendously skilled
athlete with unshakeable belief in his skills and unbreakable stamina.
Outside of it, he is a fascinating subject with a unique world view and
an inability to hold back from saying what is truly on his mind.

In the past, the only thing holding him back from real stardom was a
lack of visibility. After Diaz left the UFC in 2006 -- after two
straight wins, by the way -- he began an odyssey of fights around the
world, in promotions from PRIDE to EliteXC to DREAM to Strikeforce.

No matter how well he fought -- and he went 11-1 with 1 no contest since
the start of 2007 -- the perception existed that he was cleaning up in
the B leagues. Now back in the UFC, that argument is no longer valid.

Just a few months ago, Penn was fighting top welterweight contender Jon Fitch
to a draw. On Saturday, Penn, could do little with Diaz, especially
after the first round. According to FightMetric, Diaz out-struck Penn by
an overwhelming total of 218-58 in the last two rounds. He also
bloodied and bruised him in a way we've rarely seen.

Diaz also may benefit from his own counter-culture behavior. Polarizing
is always good. Many sports superstars are loved and hated in equal
measures, including LeBron James and Tiger Woods. Diaz isn't a bad guy,
he's just a different breed. Like all great athletes, he is intensely
driven. He doesn't have a chip on his shoulder; he has a boulder.

But he does make us scratch our heads. As you're probably aware, he
missed two press conferences leading up to UFC 137 that cost him
a title match and led to a matchup with Penn that he didn't especially
want. The switch angered Diaz, but it also helped raise his profile.
People who supported him rallied around him. And those who didn't know
much about him invariably spent time trying to to learn more about him
and whether he was self-destructing or simply didn't play by anyone
else's rules.

By the time the UFC 137 conference call came about, and Diaz was late,
he had become such a story that he was a worldwide trending topic on
Twitter. And by the time his fight with Penn came about, certainly
nearly anyone with any hint of interest in MMA had his interest piqued.

"He blew up out of nowhere," UFC president Dana White said. "Part of it
is his attitude, but I think people love a real fighter. He's definitely
a real fighter."

Diaz's words and actions are so magnetic that it appears there's no one
he can't pull into his forcefield. After beating Penn, he hung out bait
for welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Don’t assume those who break the law or confront police are agents provocateurs. A lot of people have good reason to be angry. Not everyone is resigned to legalistic pacifism; some people still remember how to stand up for themselves. Police violence isn’t just meant to provoke us, it’s meant to hurt and scare us into inaction. In this context, self-defense is essential.

Assuming that those at the front of clashes with the authorities are somehow in league with the authorities is not only illogical—it delegitimizes the spirit it takes to challenge the status quo, and dismisses the courage of those who are prepared to do so. This allegation is typical of privileged people who have been taught to trust the authorities and fear everyone who disobeys them.

I Voted to Strike

http://www.ellabakercenter.org/blog/2011/10/i-voted-to-strike/

by Tia Katrina Taruc Canlas on Oct 28, 2011

On
October 25, 2011, I biked from my office at the Ella Baker Center for
Human Rights to the Oakland Public Library to show my support for Occupy
Oakland.
About four hours later, the Oakland Police Department attacked me (and other peaceful protesters) with tear-gas. Pissed off but resolved, we came back the next day and we voted[1] for a GENERAL STRIKE in Oakland on November 2, 2011.
Last night, Occupy Oakland split into groups to develop a strategy to
organize the GENERAL STRIKE. I had to choose between four groups
specializing in media, community/door-knocking, union organizing, and
student-outreach. I chose media.
The media group split into “production” and “distribution.” I joined the “production” group and immediately started collecting pictures and reasons-to-strike. I
had amazing conversations with teachers, attorneys, youth, and some
Veterans for Peace. I am going back to the Oscar Grant Plaza later
tonight to take more pictures and collect more comments.
If you would like to help us recruit strikers, please take a picture
of yourself and send it with the reason why you are going on strike to oakstrikemedia@gmail.com. Then, “like” OakStrikeMedia’s facebook page and find your picture posted to share with your friends and family.
As for me, I support the strike because my mom raised me to love other people.[1] The voting process went like this:

Somebody went on stage and proposed a General Strike.

A group of about 1,500 amazing people split into groups of 20.

The groups of 20 discussed the pros and cons of a General Strike.

The group of about 1,500 amazing people reconvened.

The representatives of the groups of 20 declared their concerns.

The group of about 1,500 amazing people split into their groups of 20 again to vote on the amended proposal.

The group of 20 designated a voter counter.

The voter counter, counted the votes.

The voter counter brought their 20 votes to the stage.

1,484 people voted “yes”

76 people abstained from voting.

46 people voted “no.”

With a 96.9% approval, Occupy Oakland decided to go on a General Strike on November 2, 2011.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Monday, October 24, 2011

Check out this video, it's good satire regarding u.s. Imperialism in Mexico as well as poking fun at "revolutionary tourism" from u.s. activists: revolutionary tourism is not solidarity.
GringoYo
www.gringoyo.com

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I
wish I could start with the ritualistic “I love you” for the Occupy
Movement. To be honest, it has been a space of turmoil for me. But also
one of virulent optimism. What I outline below are not criticisms. I am
inspired that the dynamic of the movement thus far has been organic, so
that all those who choose to participate are collectively responsible
for its evolution. To everyone – I offer my deepest respect.

The
coming struggle is a political struggle to take political power out of
the hands of the few and put it into the hands of the many. But in order
to get this power into the hands of the many, it will be necessary for
the many not only to fight the powerful few but to fight and clash among
themselves as well.

This
may sound counter-productive, but I find it a poignant reminder that,
in our state of elation, we cannot under-estimate the difficult terrain
ahead. I look forward to the processes that will further these
conversations.

Occupations on Occupied Land

One
of the broad principles in a working statement of unity (yet to be
formally adopted) of Occupy Vancouver thus far includes an
acknowledgement of unceded Coast Salish territories. There has been
opposition to this as being “divisive” and “focusing on First Nations
issues”. I would argue that acknowledging Indigenous lands is a
necessary and critical starting point for two primary reasons.

Firstly, the word Occupy has understandably ignited criticism
from Indigenous people as having a deeply colonial implication. It
erases the brutal history of genocide that settler societies have been
built on. This is not simply a rhetorical or fringe point; it is a
profound and indisputable matter of fact that this land is already
occupied. The province of BC is largely still unceded land, which means
that no treaties have been signed and the title holders of Vancouver are
the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Tseilwau-tuth, and Musqueam. As my Sḵwx̱wú7mesh
friend Dustin Rivers joked “Okay so the Premier and provincial
government acknowledge and give thanks to the host territory, but Occupy
Vancouver can’t?”

Supporting
efforts towards decolonization is not only an Indigenous issue. It is
also about us, as non-natives, learning the history of this land and
locating ourselves and our responsibilities within the context of
colonization. Occupation movements such as those in Boston and Denver and New York have taken similar steps in deepening an anti-colonial analysis.

Secondly,
we must understand that the tentacles of corporate control have roots
in the processes of colonization and enslavement. As written by the Owe Aku International Justice Project:
“Corporate greed is the driving factor for the global oppression and
suffering of Indigenous populations. It is the driving factor for the
conquest and continued suffering for the Indigenous peoples on this
continent. The effects of greed eventually spill over and negatively
impact all peoples, everywhere.”

The
Hudsons Bay Company in Canada and the East India Trading Company in
India, for example, were some of the first corporate entities
established on the stock market. Both companies were granted trading
monopolies by the British Crown, and were able to extract resources and
amass massive profits due to the subjugation of local communities
through the use of the Empire’s military and police forces. The
attendant processes of corporate expansion and colonization continues
today, most evident in this country with the Alberta Tar Sands.
In the midst of an economic crisis, corporations’ ability to accumulate
wealth is dependent on discovering new frontiers from which to extract
resources. This disproportionately impacts Indigenous peoples and
destroys the land base required to sustain their communities, while
creating an ecological crisis for the planet as a whole.

The
very idea of the multitude forces a contestation of any one lived
experience binding the 99%. Embracing this plurality and having an open
heart to potentially uncomfortable truths about systemic oppression
beyond the ‘evil corporations and greedy banks’ will strengthen this movement. Ignoring the hierarchies of power between us does not make them magically disappear. It actually does the opposite – it entrenches those inequalities.
If we learn from social movements past, we observe that the struggle to
genuinely address issues of race, class, gender, ability, sexuality,
age, and nationality actually did more, rather than less, to facilitate
broader participation.

In
order to this we need to critically examine the idea of “catering to
the mainstream”. I do not disagree with reaching out to as broad a base
as possible; but we should ask ourselves: who constitutes the
“mainstream”? If Indigenous communities, homeless people, immigrants,
LGBTQs, seniors and others are all considered “special interest groups”
(although we actually constitute an overwhelming demographic majority),
then by default that suggests that, as Rinku Sen argues,
straight white men are the sole standard of universalism. “Addressing
other systems of oppression, and the people those systems affect, isn’t
about elevating one group’s suffering over that of white men. It’s about
understanding how the mechanisms of control actually operate. When we
understand, we can craft solutions that truly help everybody. ” This
should not be misunderstood as advocating for a pecking order of issues;
it is about understanding that the 99% is not a homogenous group but a
web of inter-related communities in struggle.

Clayton
Thomas-Muller, Tar Sands Campaign Organizer for the Indigenous
Environmental Network, wrote to me: “Our own Indigenous Rights movements
are gaining momentum which means that we all must continually be
educating new folks getting politicized. We can all be working towards a
larger convergence that is strongly rooted in an Anti colonial, Anti
Racist, Anti Oppressive framework.” In a similar vein, Syed Hussan writes,
“Understand that to truly be free, to truly include the entire 99 per
cent, you have to say today, and say every day: We will leave no one
behind.” Just as we challenge the idea of austerity put forward by
governments and corporations, we should challenge the idea of scarcity
of space in our movements and instead facilitate a more nuanced
discourse about inequality.

Learning from History and Building on Successes

While
it is clearly too early to comment on the future of the Occupy
movement, I offer a few humble preliminary thoughts based on Occupy Wall
Street and the nature of the Vancouver organizing. Those who us who
have been activists rightfully do not have any particular authority in
this movement and as many others have cautioned, more experienced
activists should not claim moral righteousness over those who are just
joining the struggle. But we also cannot claim ignorance either.

It
must be re-stated that Occupy Together is brilliantly transitional. As
has been repeatedly noted, it is has been a moral and strategic success
to not have a pre-articulated laundry list of demands within which to
confine a nascent movement. Peter Marcus writes
“Occupy is seen by most of its participants and supporters not as a set
of pressures for individual rights, but as a powerful claim for a
better world… The whole essence of the movement is to reject the game’s
rules as it is being played, to produce change that includes each of
these demands but goes much further to question the structures that make
those demands necessary.” Similarly Vijay Prashad says that we “must breathe in the many currents of dissatisfaction, and breathe out a new radical imagination.”

The
creation of encampments is in itself an act of liberation.
Decentralized gatherings with democratic decision-making processes and
autonomous space for people to gather and dialogue based on their
interests – such as through reading circles or art zones or guerrilla
gardening – create a sense of purpose, connectedness, and emancipation
in a society that otherwise breeds apathy, disenchantment, and
isolation. This type of pre-figurative politics – a living symbol of refusal
– is a ways to come together to create and live the alternatives to
this system. I am reminded of the modest (Anti) Olympic Tent Village in
our own city in the Downtown Eastside last year, which was deemed
‘paradise’ and a place where ‘real freedom lives’ by many.

One
issue I would stress is building awareness about police violence and
police infiltration. In some cities, Occupy organizers have actively
collaborated with police. While many do this on the principle of ‘we
have nothing to hide‘, the police cannot be trusted. This is not a
comment on individual police officers who maybe “ordinary people”, but
their job is to protect the 1%. The police have a long history of
repression of social movements. Plus, people who are homeless,
racialized, non-status, or queer routinely experience arbitrary police
abuse. We must take these concerns seriously in order to promote
participation from these communities. We must also learn to rely on
ourselves to keep ourselves safe and to hold ground when police are
ordered to clear us out. This seems insurmountable, but it has been done
before and can be done again.

In
the heels of the Olympics and G20, a recurring issue is diversity of
tactics. Despite a history in community-based movement-building, based
on a debate about diversity of tactics
with an ally whom I respect, there has been unnecessary and misinformed
fear-mongering that those who support a diversity of tactics
“fundamentally reject peaceful assemblies”. For me, supporting a
diversity of tactics has always implied respect for a range of
strategies including non-violent assembly. As G20 defendant Alex
Hundert, who has written extensively about diversity of tactics told me,
“It is important to recognise that a belief in supporting a diversity
of tactics means not ruling out intentionally peaceful means. These
gatherings have been explicitly nonviolent from the start and in
hundreds of cities across the continent. Obviously this is the right
tactic for this moment.”

It
is noteworthy that Occupy Wall Street has not actually dogmatically
rejected a diversity of tactics. It appears that the movement there has
understood what diversity of tactics actually means – which is not
imposing one tactic in any and every context. The Occupy Wall Street
Direct Action Working Group has adopted the basic tenet of
“respect diversity of tactics, but be aware of how your actions will
affect others.” In my opinion, this is an encouraging development as
people work together to learn how to come keep each other safe within
the encampment, while effectively escalating tactics in autonomous
actions.

Finally,
we may want to stop articulating that this is a leaderless movement; it
might be more honest to suggest that We Are All Leaders. Denying that
leadership exists deflects accountability, obscures potential
hierarchies, and absolves us of actively creating structures within
which to build collective leadership. Many of the models being used such
as the General Assembly and Consensus are rooted in the practice of
anti-authoritarians and community organizers. There are many other
skills to share to empower and embolden this movement. As much as we
wish we can radically transform unjust economic, political, and social
systems overnight, but this is a long-term struggle. And there is always
the danger of co-optation. Slavoj Zizek warned
Occupy Wall Street that “Beware not only of the enemies. But also of
false friends who are already working to dilute this process. In the
same way you get coffee without caffeine, beer without alcohol, ice
cream without fat, they will try to make this into a harmless moral
protest.” Which means that we will need to find ways to do the
pain-staking work of making this movement sustainable and rooting it
within and alongside existing grassroots movements for social and
environmental justice.

“We
have begun to come out of the shadows; we have begun to break with
routines and oppressive customs and to discard taboos; we have commenced
to carry with pride the task of thawing hearts and changing
consciousness. Women, let’s not let the danger of the journey and the
vastness of the territory scare us — let’s look forward and open paths
in these woods. Voyager, there are no bridges; one builds them as one
walks.”
- Gloria Anzaldua

The
revolution will not be led by white middle class liberals or the
professional-careerist-super activists... #Occupy The Hood! #Decolonize
the Barrio!

http://www.facebook.com/OccupyTheHood

The new mass movement, Occupy Wall Street, has already birthed a
number of movement of oppressed peoples of
color:Indigenous/African/Carribbean, etc. They are DeColonize OWS, the
People of Color Working Group, and Occupy the Hood. It is Occupy the
Hood, which is an actual Black working class political tendency, which
has the most promise as far as Africans in America are concerned. They
are not only trying to pressure the white majority to make a place the
for voices of Black/POC people, but also organzing an independent
tendency which can organize inour communities around issues effecting us
especially. it is that latter dimension which really excites me.
For
years, I have heard, but not seen a Black revolutionary mass movement
in the hip hop era, which is free of middle class conventional politics
or being manipuated by some power-hungry preachers/politicians. This
movement has the potential to create a genuine mass movment of the poor
and oppresssed, based in the urban inner cities. It is a youth centered
movement, but seems to understand if it raises issues of oppressed
peoples in Harlem, North Philly, South Memphis, or other hoods in other
places, they can bring a true majority together, an army of the poor.
In
order for that to happen, they have to put the people and mass
grassroots politics in command, and be based totally around popular
issues. In saying "politics", I am not talking about electoral politics,
which I considere virtually useless and weak, I am talking about
putting the Black poor together as a class, and then using their numbers
to confront the white capitalist government and its financial sector in
an anti-capitalist protest movement.
It is this what made the
Black protest movement of the 1960's so dynamic, not just a number of
small militant groups fighting isolated in various communities. Black
Power was a widespread, but decentralized mass movement which superceded
the civil rights phase, even before the assassination of Dr. M.L. King.
Groups like the Black Panther Party, League of Revolutionary Black
Workers and others had become mass movements in their own right, instead
of tailing after white radicals.

This can happen again,
and in my mind, Occupy the hood is that movement best situated to make
that hapen in this period. They are part of the Wall Street tendency,
and can unite with other POC tendencies and even
anti-racist/anti-colonial whites to wage an internal battle inside OWS
to make it accountable to POC's instead of just white middle class
workers who have lost their jobs, homes, or money in this period. We
have suffered far worse.
Over 1 million Black/POC people are in
the prison system, which destroys not just the prisoner but his family
and community. We have the highest evels of unemployment in the USA,
"officially" 16.7%, but actually far higher at Great Depression levels
of 26%. We have the highest number of urban homeless. We have record
levels of infant mortality, approaching the 3rd world. On and on we are
catching hell more than anybody, and we are the class of surplus labor
that all economists speak of who have considered the matter.

But
we need to organize, not not just bemoan our fate or curse our luck. We
can change everything with out all-out struggle, on our own terms. We
do not have to be shackeled by the racism and backwardness of white
workers. Through a movement like Occupy the Hood, we can orgnize not
only our own communities, but through that organize the world who would
unite with our struggle. So, to end this, I see the potential of this
movement more than anything else to come along in the hip hop era. They
seem to "get it", and understand instinctively that they can organize
their peoples to not only destroy Wall Street, which is based on our
slavery and exploitation, but the entire system of capitalist
oppression. Memphis has been designated the poorest city in the USA. I'm
honored to be part of this movement in anyway, and will do everything I
can to push it forward. I am not interested in "leading" it, they seem
to have already gotten founders and collective leadership that can do
the job at this early stage. I hope tht all power will continue to rest
in the local communites, and that they shut out all m anner of political
opportunists seeking to become the next Obama or politician using the
movement as a launching pad. Only if power is in the hands of the people
will it succeed.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

The October 2011 edition of No One Is Illegal Radio lends a focus to local struggles against deportations, on movements against police killings, and organizing for rights for temporary workers and workers in temp agencies. Also a historical and current account of people of colour organizing in Los Angeles, U.S.A..
Featuring:Rosalind Wong of Solidarity Across Borders discusses the recent deportation of Mexican refugee mother of two, Paola Ortiz, who had been living in Montreal after fleeing violence in Mexico. Rosalind also provides perspective on importance of directly supporting those facing deportations in the struggle to create a world in which people have the ability to migrate freely.Joey Calugay of Montreal's Immigrant Worker's Centre, discussing the intersections between temporary work agencies and the exploitation of migrant labour in Montreal and across Canada.Joaquin Cienfuegos of Copwatch L.A. and the Native Youth Movement, provides his perspective on autonomous organizing by people of colour in Los Angelas against police brutality, the history of gangs in L.A., and how these issues intersect with the Black Power movement. This audio is from the second International Copwatch Conference, which took place in Winnipeg in July 2011, from on a panel entitled "Gangs and the Police".Bridget Tolley, an indigenous woman living in Kitiganzibi, and co-founder of Families of Sisters in Spirit discusses her struggle for truth and justice following the killing of her mother on her reserve by the police, and the importance of supporting families in this situation. She invites people to join Montreal's second annual Justice for Victims of Police Killings March & Vigil on October 22nd, organized by the families, friends, and allies of people killed by the police.

To Occupy And Unoccupy

“This is a war that’s been going on since the invasion of North America.”- Rev. Pedro Pietri
With the ongoing Occupation movement on Wall Street and the growing
occupation movements going on around the US, this is just a reminder
that some of us have been dealing with occupation for centuries now.
Although we support the ideas behind Occupy Wall Street and the other
Occupation movements we want those who have chosen to use the
terminology of “Occupation” to be aware of the hidden and unrecognized
history behind that word when it comes to non-white peoples.
Those of us who are not white have had to deal with this “occupation”
in one form or another since 1492 when Columbus “discovered” America,
for himself. That discovery opened the door for other European nations
hell-bent, fighting and tripping over themselves to colonize, rape,
plunder and enrich themselves at the expense of indigenous peoples. From
the genocide of the native populations in the Caribbean, North, Central
and South America that this “occupation” brought to us over 500 years
ago to the holocaust of the trans-Atlantic African slave trade and
subsequent rampant colonization of Africa. The story of the occupation
of indigenous lands doesn’t just end with wholesale murder but continues
today in new forms of violence. The eradication of native peoples
language, culture and history is the new “occupation”. With the success
of the forced occupation of native peoples land, the only thing left to
occupy is the minds of those who managed to survive…

The greatest misconception that white people have is that only
non-whites have to deal with racism. What whites have failed to realize
is that racism is only the frosting on the cake of class warfare. What
is done to non-whites under the guise of racism is a test run for what
they will eventually do to you. The irony of the situation is that we
non-whites who have been dealing with this “occupation” for over five
centuries were the canary in the coal mine. But you refused to see the
graffiti on the wall. Now that you have lost your homes to banks and
your livelihoods to unemployment and your once bright white futures have
been painted black, (pun intended) and you are beginning to feel what
we have lived with for more than half an eon.

If you ever wonder why more people of color haven’t yet swelled your
“occupation” ranks it may be because historically, once you have what
you want, you’ll go back to occupying the comfortable role of white
privilege that led you to believe that racism was different from
classism. What you are experiencing is old hat for us, the forced
removal from your homes, the inability to find work that pays a living
wage, the police brutality, frivolous arrests, and your adventures with
the justice shitstem, even your homeless encampment are just a few of
the things we have lived with for longer than you would care to imagine.
We have lived with a knowledge of things that you are now, only
beginning to realize.
This is a warning to you that your “Occupy…” movement will fail
unless you reach out to those who have a lot more experience with
“occupation” than you ever will have. Let me reiterate that people of
color support your ideas in striking back at this ongoing class warfare
but this movement will fail if it doesn’t realize that this didn’t begin
with the collapse of the financial shitstem in 2008… it began long,
long, long, before then. Unless you begin to deal with the roots of this
occupation that began 500 years ago you’re current occupation will
fail.
This is also an invitation for you to open up your dialogue to
non-whites who have been at the frontlines of this “occupation” and have
suffered the most casualties because of it. If you want to succeed in
creating a more egalitarian society then it would behoove you to reach
out to the ones who have suffered the most inequality. Otherwise you
risk becoming the very same occupation that we have come to hate, and
that you are only beginning to feel, and you risk changing nothing.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

As an Tohono O'odham, who lives in Phoenix, let alone an Indigenous
person of this region, we live through the nightmare of the 1% total
disregard of Indigenous self-determination and overall Human Rights. I
would HOPE all who are now mobilizing in solidarity with Occupy Wall
Street, would stop and think about what does that mean? Is Occupy
Phoenix solidarity symbolic in meaning (i.e. rallying against Bank and
the overall financial system downtown), or is it very intentional in
challenging the destructive behaviors that the capitalist system, and
all those in power that horde it (the 1%), release towards our
communities? If the second (which I get from the comparison to Arab
Spring by the Occupy Wall Street site), then we ALL need to address
colonization, because if not, then this is just another "white"
revolution, that perpetuates the initial destruction of the 1% (i.e.
European setters), that nearly wiped the 99% population of Indigenous
folk off the continent. I would hope any mobilization against Capitalism
here in AZ starts with local and regional context, and provide space
for those who have been fighting capitalism (the 1%!) for 519
years(Indigenous People, who contrary to popular belief, ARE STILL
HERE!).

My people are fighting against the proposed two billion dollar South
Mountain Freeway (out on the Gila River Indian Community, ) and Border
Militarization (on the Tohono O'odham Nation). THESE two examples stem
from Neo-Liberal projects, such as NAFTA! Freeways, Border walls all
benefit capital (i.e. Wall Street). Walls regulate the flow of goods,
manage labor and destroy communities with roads paved to transfer
capital from Mexico to Canada (CANAMEX trade corridors). Believe it or
not, the Financial system (Wall Street) benefits off this shit. My
people are stuck in this nightmare! So if you want to challenge the 1%
(the rich who benefit off this destruction) with Occupy Phoenix
solidarity, PLEASE…provide space, then address capitalism (colonization)
here, and be in solidarity the first 99% of resisters, us Indigenous
folk…

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

"The only thing more irritating than people doing absolutely nothing to make the world a better place are those actively trying to make it worse, but coming in a strong third? Those whose well-meaning efforts to make the world better are so misguided that they make things worse by default."

-Keli Goff regarding "Slut Walk" can also apply to the Occupation "movement"

"We ALL need to address colonization, because if not, then this is just another "white" revolution, that perpetuates the initial destruction of the 1% (i.e. European setters), that nearly wiped the 99% population of Indigenous folk off the continent. I would hope any mobilization against Capitalism here in AZ starts with local and regional context, and provide space for those who have been fighting capitalism (the 1%!) for 519 years(Indigenous People, who contrary to popular belief, ARE STILL HERE!). "

-Alex Soto on Occupy Phoenix

"I hope you would make mention of the fact that the very land upon which you are protesting does not belong to you – that you are guests upon that stolen indigenous land. I had hoped mention would be made of the indigenous nation whose land that is. I had hoped that you would address the centuries-long history that we indigenous peoples of this continent have endured being subject to the countless ‘-isms’ of do-gooders claiming to be building a “more just society,” a “better world,” a “land of freedom” on top of our indigenous societies, on our indigenous lands, while destroying and/or ignoring our ways of life. I had hoped that you would acknowledge that, since you are settlers on indigenous land, you need and want our indigenous consent to your building anything on our land – never mind an entire society."

I wasn't too excited about occupyla and the occupation movement in general, it seemed to me like a white middle class movement, and most of the folks leading it, I have doubts about their intention, seems like a "take back america" for the white middle class struggle.

Hearing from comrades all over, just countless stories about oppressed people being excluded.

I think there are some genuine people involved there who want to see change happen and were hoping that this was going to be the revolution and are being duped by the leadership, who is working with the police and the state.

The only way i think it's going to go anywhere is if the oppressed people are in the forefront, and make it about the people (the oppressed) not about their own ego or liberal issue. The revolution isn't going to come from the privileged sectors of society or liberals.

Unchecked privilege in the movement makes it harder for us to achieve our goals.

The “OCCUPY WALL STREET” slogan has gone viral and international now. From the protests on the streets of WALL STREET in the name of “ending capitalism” – organizers, protestors, and activists have been encouraged to “occupy” different places that symbolize greed and power. There’s just one problem: THE UNITED STATES IS ALREADY BEING OCCUPIED. THIS IS INDIGENOUS LAND. And it’s been occupied for quite some time now.

I also need to mention that New York City is Haudenosaunee territory and home to many other First Nations. Waiting to see if that’s been mentioned anywhere.

Not that I’m surprised that this was a misstep in organizing against Wall Street or really any organizing that happens when the “left” decides that it’s going to “take back America for the people” (which people?!). This is part of a much larger issue, and in fact there is so much nationalistic, patriotic language of imperialism wrapped up in these types of campaigns that it’s no wonder people can’t see the erasure of existence of the First Peoples of THIS territory that happens when we get all high and mighty with the pro-America agendas, and forget our OWN complicity and accountability to the way things are today – not just the corporations and the state.

Let me be clear. I’m not against ending capitalism and I’m not against people organizing to hold big corporations accountable for the extreme damage they are causing. Yes, we need to end globalization. What I am saying is that I have all kinds of problems when to get to “ending capitalism” we step on other people’s rights – and in this case erode Indigenous rights – to make the point. I’m not saying people did it intentionally but that doesn’t even matter – good intentions are not enough and good intentions obviously can have adverse affects. This is such a played out old record too, walking on other people’s backs to get to a mystical land of equity. Is it really just and equitable when specific people continue to be oppressed to get there? And it doesn’t have to be done! We don’t need more occupation – we need decolonization and it’s everyone’s responsibility to participate in that because COLONIALISM AFFECTS EVERYONE. EVERYONE! Colonialism also leads to capitalism, globalization, and industrialization. How can we truly end capitalism without ending colonialism? How does doing things in the name of “America” which was created by the imposition of hierarchies of class, race, ability, gender, and sexuality help that?

I can’t get on board with the nationalism of an “American” (or now “Canadian!”) revolution – I just can’t. There has been too much genocide and violence for the United States and Canada to be founded and to continue to exist as nation states. I think John Paul Montano, Anishnaabe writer captured it quite well in his “Open Letter to Occupy Wall Street Activists”:

I hope you would make mention of the fact that the very land upon which you are protesting does not belong to you – that you are guests upon that stolen indigenous land. I had hoped mention would be made of the indigenous nation whose land that is. I had hoped that you would address the centuries-long history that we indigenous peoples of this continent have endured being subject to the countless ‘-isms’ of do-gooders claiming to be building a “more just society,” a “better world,” a “land of freedom” on top of our indigenous societies, on our indigenous lands, while destroying and/or ignoring our ways of life. I had hoped that you would acknowledge that, since you are settlers on indigenous land, you need and want our indigenous consent to your building anything on our land – never mind an entire society.

An Open Letter to the Occupy Wall Street Activists

Thank you for your courage. Thank you for making an attempt to improve the situation in what is now called the United States. Thank you for your commitment to peace and non-violence. Thank you for the sacrifices you are making. Thank you.

There's just one thing. I am not one of the 99 percent that you refer to. And, that saddens me. Please don't misunderstand me. I would like to be one of the 99 percent... but you've chosen to exclude me. Perhaps it was unintentional, but, I've been excluded by you. In fact, there are millions of us indigenous people who have been excluded from the Occupy Wall Street protest. Please know that I suspect that it was an unintentional exclusion on your part. That is why I'm writing to you. I believe that you can make this right. (I hope you're still smiling.)

It seems that ever since we indigenous people have discovered Europeans and invited them to visit with us here on our land, we've had to endure countless '-isms' and religions and programs and social engineering that would "fix" us. Protestantism, Socialism, Communism, American Democracy, Christianity, Boarding Schools, Residential Schools,... well, you get the idea. And, it seems that these so-called enlightened strategies were nearly always enacted and implemented and pushed upon us without our consent. And, I'll assume that you're aware of how it turned out for us. Yes. Terribly.

Which brings me back to your mostly-inspiring Occupy Wall Street activities. On September 22nd, with great excitement, I eagerly read your "one demand" statement. Hoping and believing that you enlightened folks fighting for justice and equality and an end to imperialism, etc., etc., would make mention of the fact that the very land upon which you are protesting does not belong to you - that you are guests upon that stolen indigenous land. I had hoped mention would be made of the indigenous nation whose land that is. I had hoped that you would address the centuries-long history that we indigenous peoples of this continent have endured being subject to the countless '-isms' of do-gooders claiming to be building a "more just society," a "better world," a "land of freedom" on top of our indigenous societies, on our indigenous lands, while destroying and/or ignoring our ways of life. I had hoped that you would acknowledge that, since you are settlers on indigenous land, you need and want our indigenous consent to your building anything on our land - never mind an entire society. See where I'm going with this? I hope you're still smiling. We're still friends, so don't sweat it. I believe your hearts are in the right place. I know that this whole genocide and colonization thing causes all of us lots of confusion sometimes. It just seems to me that you're unknowingly doing the same thing to us that all the colonizers before you have done: you want to do stuff on our land without asking our permission.

But, fear not my friends. We indigenous people have a sense of humor. So, I thought I might make a few friendly suggestions which may help to "fix" the pro-colonialism position in which you now (hopefully, unintentionally) find yourselves. (Please note my use of the word "fix" in the previous sentence. That's an attempt at a joke. You can refer to the third paragraph if you'd like an explanation.)

By the way, I'm just one indigenous person. I represent no one except myself. I'm acting alone in writing this letter. Perhaps none of my own Nishnaabe people will support me in having written this. Perhaps some will. I respect their opinions either way. I love my Nishnaabe people always. I am simply trying to do something good - same as all of you at the Occupy Wall Street protest in what is now called New York.

So, here goes. (You're still smiling, right?)

1) Acknowledge that the United States of America is a colonial country, a country of settlers, built upon the land of indigenous nations; and/or...

3) Demand that the colonial government of the United States of America honor all treaties signed with all indigenous nations whose lands are now collectively referred to as the "United States of America"; and/or...

4) Make some kind of mention that you are indeed aware that you are settlers and that you are not intending to repeat the mistakes of all of the settler do-gooders that have come before you. In other words, that you are willing to obtain the consent of indigenous people before you do anything on indigenous land.